One thing we’re going to see a lot more of this year is digital twinning, whereby we take a physical asset and create an exact copy in the digital world. With a model that is both digital and dynamic, we can more accurately conduct tests on how a certain asset will perform in the real world across the duration of its lifecycle.

Digital twinning has previously been thought of as a technology reserved exclusively for large-scale projects, an innovative practice used only for very high-value assets. However, we’re starting to see digital twinning become more widely adopted across more industries and sectors than ever before, taking the technology from the aspirational, to the everyday.

The Internet of Things (IoT) is transforming the way we live and work. I’ve even heard it said that organisations who ignore IoT risk going the same way as the dinosaurs! Those leading the market in this field are already innovating in incredible ways to give their organisations a clear and unique advantage over their competitors, displaying the real-world business value of IoT. For those who can effectively leverage IoT, the business potential is enormous; in almost every industry there are processes, functions, products and services that can be transformed by the application of IoT technologies.

IoT is an exciting technology, full of opportunity to innovate. In this webinar you can hear our experts talk about a day in their lives, and how its having an impact. We also discuss some of the ways IoT is making a difference to organisations and the ways in which Tech Data and Cisco can help.

In our latest webinar we discussed how providers of IT can help their customers with their digitalisation journey, along with ways Tech Data and Cisco can help. Partnering with Cisco can provide you with access to a range of benefits, tools and resources.

The internet of things (IoT) is changing the world. In this webinar, recorded in November 2017, Tech Data talk about creating smart parking solutions for towns and cities. Imagine if you arrived in your car to a new town for the first time and your navigation system could tell you where the nearest available parking space was. It has powerful commercial applications for things like tourist buses also. With smart parking you can reduce congestion and therefore pollution.

Tech Data is one of the world's largest wholesale distributors of technology products, services and solutions. So when it comes to IoT and IT training, Stephen Ennis, Director, Tech Data Academy Europe, has some wise words of advice for IT providers looking to get into IoT.

Education is a must, especially for IT professionals

No matter what walk of life you’re in, training and education always matter. In the IT industry, most organisations responsible for operating data centre environments demand that IT professionals have the right IT certifications just to get through the front door. Rightly so, given the value of the data that resides there. Having the latest certifications is the best way for a serious IT professional to show employers and customers that they have the skills and competency to use all the products correctly and to their full capacity. Let’s face it, no one likes the idea of unplanned downtime because a configuration feature was overlooked or misunderstood. When it comes to IT training and certifications for the Internet of Things (IoT), IT providers and the IT professionals who work for them have to consider some additional factors unique to IoT.

The Internet of Things is rapidly evolving, re-shaping thousands of industries in fresh and exciting ways. Gartner predicts that 20.4 billion connected devices will be in use globally by 2020 (source: Gartner, 2017).

What makes IoT so exciting is its ability to completely transform how a business operates. IoT is innovation-led meaning the better you can innovate, the better the business outcome. Organisations who fail to grasp this, face being left behind by competitors. Most businesses need help understanding how to embrace the advantages that come with IoT, as well as support to successfully implement connected solutions into the business model. As an IT provider, you need to start by having a thorough understanding of your customers’ most pressing business challenges. Then with an open mind, look at creative ways you can use IoT solutions to overcome these challenges. To start off, don’t allow yourself to be constrained by the traditional ways of doing things. Remember, you are looking for game-changing innovation. Then reach out to experienced partners, like Tech Data, who can help take an IoT concept through to a production-ready solution, capable of delivering a measurable return on investment.

A global player in the tourism industry needed to replace the legacy application it was using to manage marketing campaigns with IBM Campaign. For the deployment to be successful, it was important to get two things right; firstly, the time given to rollout the project was tight, so staff had to be trained quickly to ensure minimum business disruption. Secondly, being new to IBM Campaign, staff feared there would be complexities that they would struggle to master. It was critical they were taught how to use all the features and get the most from their investment in the application.